The Necessity for Christians to have Intimacy with God, through Total Faith, Trust and Patience!

Proverbs 3:5.         Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

And then we come to Thursday, the penultimate day of our work week. Wow! The week’s almost over! But please remember what Jesus said, don’t look forward too much to tomorrow, Friday, for Friday will present its own problems, (Matt. 6:34) let’s concentrate mostly on handling today’s challenges. (smile)  Now, since God so generously spared our lives to see another day on His wonderful though currently chaotic planet earth, let’s keep our promise to continue looking at the prayer credited to Jane Williams, a professor at St. Mellitus College in London, England, founded in 2007, whose mission is to provide innovative theological education and training for those called to serve Christ in the church and the world. 

The prayer is found in the 2025 publication of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, titled ‘Prayers Through The Ages.’  And it’s short and sweet enough for us to pray it again. (smile) So please pray with me: ‘Christ, you have gone before me to prepare a place for me, that where you are there I may be also. Teach me to wait with patience, to watch with alertness, to trust that you are with me in the unknown future and to know your presence.’ What wonderful sentiments! And yesterday we looked at Jesus’ promise to go and prepare a place for us and then come back to take us with Him, (John 14:1-3) a foundational truth of our faith, as well as the request for God to teach us to wait with patience.

Now that waiting with patience is a tough nut to crack, because it only comes through lots of experience; waiting with faith and a good attitude despite the adversity we all go through. Likewise the other request from the prayer: ‘teach me to watch with alertness.’ That only comes through faith and experience. As we saw a few day ago, where Jesus warns us to ‘Take heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.’ (Mark 13:33)

Yes, we know that Jesus is coming back, but we don’t know when, and it could be anytime, like a thief in the night. That means we have to constantly be on the lookout and also be ready. For if He comes back and we’re not ready, then it’s hell fire and damnation for us. That’s why these words of His are so important. ‘And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.’ (Mark 13:37) And we cannot overestimate how important it is to watch and be ready for whenever Jesus returns.

Then there’s the problem of trust, which means walking by faith and not sight. (2 Cor. 5:7) Putting all our trust in Jesus is again not easy, and only comes with experience. The longer we live with Jesus, the more we see His absolute faithfulness and learn to trust Him. And again there are numerous scriptures that detail that requirement. And here are a couple of the most prominent verses. The first ones come from Cousin Sol in Proverbs. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct (make straight or smooth) thy paths.’ (Prov. 3:5-6)

Then there’s this from Bruh David from Psalm 37. ‘Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.’ (Ps. 37:3-5)

And finally the prayer talks about knowing God’s presence. That’s another aspect that only comes with experience. But knowing and feeling God’s presence around us is of major importance, as it especially brings us comfort and lack of fear. And there are many scriptures that talk about the importance of feeling God’s presence in our daily lives. And I guess the first one ought to be Moses’ plea to God for grace and knowledge of Him, (Ex.33:13) while leading the Israelites to the Promised Land. ‘And he (God) said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.’ (Ex. 33;14)

Now that gave Moses the encouragement he needed, because he knew if the Lord wasn’t present with them, they would see lots of trouble. Then in Psalm 16, Bruh David encourages us with this titillating verse on the subject. He writes: ‘Thou wilt shew me the paths of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever more.’ (Ps. 16:11) Yes friends, when we’re in the presence of God, our spirits are light and fanciful and there’s such joy that we cannot contain it.

And I believe Bruh David says it best in the remarkable Psalm 139  ‘Praise to the All-Knowing God.’  There, he expounds thus on God’s presence: ‘Whither shall (can) I go from thy spirit? or whither shall (can) I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.’ (Ps. 139: 7-10)

Oh my people, that just goes to show that we can never escape the presence of God; for he’s Omi-present Wherever we go, He’s always around. And every time I read that scripture I’m reminded of the first time I heard it acted out so marvellously by Dr. Robert Schuller on the Hour of Power T.V. programme. The problem though with God’s presence is for us to feel it. He’s always there, but unless we feel it, it does us no good. And to do that we have to become very intimate with God, through prayer, His Word and the Holy Spirit that dwells within us to lead, guide and comfort us.  

Unfortunately friends, the whole Christian thing, growing in spiritual maturity, takes time and experience; going  through adversity and failure, but not giving up because your faith and trust is strong. And every time you go through something negative; your faith gets stronger. As Cousin Sol says: ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…’ (Prov. 24:16a) That’s the only way to grow!

Now, let’s declare our Thursday Blessings, undeserved ones, so generously bestowed on us by God to do His earthly work. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration, we’re now duty bound to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…growing in Christian maturity…only comes through… sincere trust and faith in God…and experience with adversity…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance of Laying Up Safe Treasures in Heaven as Opposed to Unsafe Treasures on Earth!

Matthew 6:21.        For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Oh friends, it’s Thursday, our penultimate day of the week! It’s a windy one with some sunshine, but also a cloud cover, and please, as Jesus says, don’t look forward too much to tomorrow and thus ignore today’s challenges. (Matt. 6:34) The weekend will come in due time and give you enough troubles to manage.

Anyway, I don’t know if the ole fella is getting soft in the head or what, (smile) but I just noticed that I sent our yesterday’s Bit as the 10th of March instead of the 11th.  And I always check the dates and headings before I send them out. But the problem lies in the fact that I usually copy the headings and just change the dates, apparently though, I forgot to do that yesterday. Please forgive me. And I know you will, but it’s if I can forgive myself, for I detest making mistakes, especially such glaring ones, although I know they are a human possibility. (smile) But please don’t worry, we will get over it eventually.

Now here’s an interesting phenomenon I noticed some time last week. On looking out my bedroom window on to my backyard, I suddenly noticed that the big tree in my neighbour’s yard still had about three to four dozen leaves attached to it from the bottom branches to a third of the way up. And they are not new growth, for they are light brown in colour. That means they must have weathered the winter with all the snow, strong winds and lack of proper nourishment. I can’t remember ever seeing this sort of thing before, where two thirds of a tree was bare while the remaining third had numerous leaves on it’s dry branches. And I wonder how come I never noticed it before, as I look out my bedroom window every day to see what’s happening out there.

But who knows why and how it happened? So we’ll just place it in the God moves in mysterious ways folder, until we know better. (smile) And here’s another most important and appropriate message from Jesus to His followers. This from His teachings on the Sermon on the Mount, where He strongly admonishes us: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt (ruin), and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ (Matt. 6:19-21)

And we all know that’s the indisputable truth; wherever our treasure is hidden that’s where our focus will be concentrated. But unfortunately, too many of us still kill ourselves working, or scamming, to lay up earthly treasures for ourselves, despite knowing the truth of Jesus’ warning. But just check out a junkyard. Everything in there was once bright, shiny and new, and we worked or stole our tails off to get them. But with the passage of time they withered, rusted, or rotted and are now considered junk.

Then things like money and jewels are stolen or fraudulently acquired every day. Banks are robbed, big museums are robbed in broad daylight despite the many intrepid alarm systems they possess. So there’s really no safe way to hoard your earthly possessions. And Jesus didn’t even talk about the worse part of hoarding earthly treasures, that is when you die you don’t carry them with you, but leave them right here on earth for others to waste or fight over. So what’s the point of running down earthly treasures eh? None whatsoever!

Now Jesus didn’t mean you cannot acquire earthly treasures, but that should not be your number one goal. Your number one goal should be seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness, which would allow you to lay up treasures in heaven, where there are no moths, rust or thieves, and whatever you lay up there is completely safe. And Peter seconds Jesus’ warning when he writes: ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.’ (1 Pet. 1:3-5)

Yes my fellow believers, if the Lord could raise Jesus from the dead, and keep our inheritance of salvation and eternal life imperishable or indestructible, morally untainted and not subject to the ravages of time, why can’t He keep our other lesser treasures and rewards that we store in heaven safe eh? No reason at all. And the scholars offer this explanation on the subject of treasures. ‘The attention of the believer is directed toward treasures in heaven. The term ‘treasures’ implies the addition or accumulation of things. The two kinds of treasures are conditioned by their place (either on earth or in heaven). The concept of laying up treasures in heaven is not pictured as one of meritorious benefits but rather rewards for faithful service, as illustrated elsewhere in the teaching of Jesus.’

And with that explanation come this other warning, where some of us try to ride the fence. Jesus rightfully declares: ‘No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and LOVE the other, or else he will hold to the one (be loyal to one), and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’ (Matt. 6:24) That’s more gospel truth friends! You cannot worship material wealth and God at the same time. As the scholars say: ‘Total loyalty to God cannot be divided between Him and one’s material possessions… Jesus is not condemning money or possessions in and of themselves, but the improper attitude of enslavement toward wealth.’

But how many of us are listening to Jesus eh? Not a whole lot, for the current trend in our world is to run down earthly wealth like it’s going out of style. Anyway, unless we choose to listen, nobody can really tell us how to make our individual way in this evil, greedy and ungodly world. But let’s remember there are consequences to every action, and some of those consequences can be very dangerous and damning. So please pay serious attention to the warnings of Jesus, for He knows whereof He speaks.

Now let’s declare and thus activate our underserved Thursday Blessings that God has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration, it now behooves us to go out and share those blessings with others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him as we do! Much LOVE!

…the LOVE of money and/or material wealth…will drive you to do all kinds of evil deeds…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Importance of Lent and the Temptations of Jesus in a Christian’s Life! Pt. 2.

Matthew 4:10.         Get thee hence, Satan (away with you): for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Ah mih people, like the good Lord has given us another day of life on this wonderful planet Earth! And though we’ve spoiled it, so that life now is oftentimes tough, we’re still thankful to be here, alive and kicking, rather than unalive below ground. (smile) And thankfully too, there’s no more dangerous precipitation like we had yesterday; just a cold, somewhat cloudy day. And we can live with that.

There’s also one other thing we cannot complain about this year, that’s SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), when we suffer symptoms like low energy, sleep problems, appetite changes, and loss of interest because of a lack of sunshine. For this year we’ve gotten quite a lot of sunshine with the cold weather, so we can’t complain. (smile)

Now let’s get to our topic for today, the continuation of  the importance of Jesus’ temptations. So, yesterday we saw where immediately after He was baptized by John the Baptist, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, fasting for forty days and nights, then the devil came and tempted Him. All of it to build His faith, mental and emotional strength for the rather difficult journey He was about to embark on in His preaching ministry.

We saw too that when Jesus was terribly hungry after fasting, the devil tempted Him in that supposedly weak area, by saying if He was the Son of God, He could make bread from the stones around Him. But Jesus rebuked him with that famous statement: ‘It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.’ (Matt. 4:4)

But that did not deter the tempter. The Bible tells us: ‘Then the devil taketh him (Jesus) up into the holy city, and sitteth him on a pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt (test) the Lord thy God.’ (Matt. 4:5-7)

Wow friends! The devil quoting scripture! Anyway, the scholars offer these explanation re those verses. ‘The second temptation took place in the holy city (Jerusalem) on the pinnacle of the temple, which towered above the Kidron Valley. Evidently Jesus was transported there by Satan’s power, and this time the devil quoted Scripture  (out of context) in order to get Him to sin and ultimately shake His faith in the Word. Satan used Psalm 91:11-12 urging Jesus to cast thyself down. Again Jesus replied with Scripture (Deut. 6:16)  that he was not to tempt God by such a presumptuous action. The very passage of scripture quoted by Satan actually goes on to promise God’s ultimate victory over him!’

So my brethren, we see that Satan also knows the Bible and can use it in devious ways to his advantage. That’s why we must know our scripture too, so when he tries to bamboozle us with it, we can quote like Jesus: ‘It is written.’ And here’s the scripture the scholars talk about that refers to victory over Satan in Ps. 91. ‘Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder (cobra): the young lion and the dragon (serpent) shalt thou trample under feet.’ (Ps. 91:13. The serpent there refers to Satan.

And the verse that Jesus quotes in reply to Satan is that spoken by Moses to the Israelites: ‘Ye shall not tempt (test) the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.’ (Deut. 6:16) That’s when they were in the wilderness with no water and they complained against Moses and God, and God had Moses strike the rock and produce water. (Ex. 17:1-7)

Then we come to the last of the great temptations. The Bible says: ‘Again, the devil taketh him (Jesus) into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan (away with you): for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.’ (Matt. 4:8-11)

But the boldfaceness of Satan! Imagine it nuh! He telling His Creator to bow down and worship Him, when it should be the other way around! But that should not surprise us, because it’s also the way some of us behave towards God, expecting Him to do as we desire instead of us doing His will.

And the scholars offer these explanations: ‘The third temptation takes place on an exceeding high mountain. The mountain is clearly real in the text, though its exact location is unidentified. Despite the grandeur of this temptation, nothing in the passage itself indicates that these temptations were only in the mind of Christ. Clearly, they are depicted as real experiences that actually occurred in the human life of the Messiah. That Satan, the usurper, would attempt to give the kingdoms of the world to Jesus, the Messiah, the rightful King, is the height of absurdity!

For Christ to fall down and worship Satan would have been to acknowledge the Devil’s lordship over Him. In His direct rebuke, Get thee hence, Satan, Jesus clearly asserts His lordship over the old serpent whose head he will soon crush. Matthew’s statement that Satan leaveth him shows that his order of the temptations is the chronological one. (cf. Luke 4:1-13).’ 

And that reference to Luke’s gospel, simply shows he has the last two temptations in a different order. And for our information, the quote Jesus uses in that last temptation could come any number of verses, such as, Deut. 6:13; 10:20; Ex. 20:1-5. Now, with all of that wonderful information under our belt, let’s go home declaring and thus activating our Thursday Blessings, so generously bestowed on us by the Lord to enable us to do His earthly work.

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration, we’re now duty bound to go out and use those undeserved blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…Satan is a wily one…but he’s no match for us…when Christ dwells within us…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Urgent Necessity for Christians to Rise up this New Year and Retake this Evil and Ungodly World for Jesus!

James 2:17.        Even so faith, if it hath no works, is dead, being alone.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!

It’s 2026 friends! Yes, the old year has gone and the new one has come. What will our reaction be to it eh? Let’s hope for all of our sakes and those of our descendants that it is a more proactive and Christ-like attitude than what we showed last year. I know I keep harping on Christ-like improvements, but my fellow believers, the truth of the matter is that’s the ONLY way our world will ever improve. If we don’t get up, get together and fight like one big army for Jesus, do you think the devil and his evil-doing cronies will do it? Obviously not! Because their confirmed desire is to see the whole world go to hell in a handbasket… and the sooner the better. 

This year ought to be one of less talk and much more action, if we desire to see good and godly improvements in our world. Remember these most important words of Jesus? ‘For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world though him might be saved.’ (John 3:17) And Jesus came and did His part; set the stage for peace and LOVE and goodwill to men, with salvation and eternal life thrown in for good measure. (smile) But then He had to go back to heaven to do His work there, interceding for us, and left us to continue the good work He began down here. 

But, unfortunately, we have fallen down on the job and allowed the evil doers to run rampant all over the world, so now we have an even bigger job to take it back from them. However, it’s not impossible, for when we’re living and working for Jesus, NOTHING is impossible! But it doesn’t happen on it’s own, or overnight, for as James so wisely reminds us: ‘What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works, can faith save him? 

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath no works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.’ (James 2:14-18) 

Oh my people, those words are filled with gospel truth, for in this life so many of us talk the good talk but do nothing to action it. And yes, it’s faith that gets you to heaven, but that faith is expected to have good works with it after we come to Christ. As this commentary tells us: ‘Genuine faith results in good works, proving it’s alive.’ And also as Bruh Paul wrote to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are ye saved (you have been saved) through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any many should boast. For we are his workmanship (creation), created in Christ Jesus unto (for) good works, which God hath before ordained (prepared) that we should walk in them.’ (Eph. 2:8-10) 

The long and short of the story there is that we are can only be saved by grace through faith, which is a gift of God, so that man cannot boast about his own deeds. However, God had foreordained that we should do good works after being saved. As the scholars explain. ‘Created in Christ Jesus unto good works means “having been (morally) re-created by Christ Jesus for good works;” that is, Jesus remade our spiritual lives so that we could then do good works. The apostle’s thinking is this: since the Christian has been given spiritual life for the purpose of doing good works, there could have been no good works by him prior to conversion that would merit salvation. Good works follow – do not precede – salvation.’ 

So good works will not get us into heaven, but after we are come to faith we are expected to do good works in Christ’s name. It’s like Jesus said when talking about false prophets: ‘Every tree that bringeth not forth food fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruit ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils (demons)? and in thy name done many wonderful works (miracles)? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.’ (Matt. 7:19-23) 

Yes friends doing all those outward things doesn’t mean that you’re sincere, for false prophets can also appear sincere. And as the scholars further explain: ‘Not everyone professing Christ is genuinely saved. Even the outward verbal acknowledgement of His lordship is in itself not enough to save the unbeliever apart from true repentance and faith. A genuinely saved person is one that doeth the will of my Father, the Greek present tense suggesting that he is continually living in obedience to the will of God as the normal course of his life.’ 

And if you want some more clarification on the subject, then you can check out Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46, where, as this commentary breaks it down: ‘eternal life is granted to those who showed compassion (fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick), demonstrating faith through action.’ And that’s the moral of the story; we cannot have true faith without sincere good works, for they go together like a hand and a glove. 

Now let’s go home declaring our undeserved Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do the good work He desires of us. What a wise and wonderful God we serve my people! Altogether: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that awesome declaration (yesss!!!) it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…2026 is the year for sincere action…on the part of true believers…let’s beleive it…and act on it…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Necessity for Believers to Understand What’s Happening, when the Holy Spirit Calls Their Number!

Luke 1:37.        ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’

Only 7 more now friends… Yes, only seven day left to Christmas, so you had better get all your Christmas shopping and preparations done soon, because the days are passing by quicker than you realize. (smile) And on this Thursday before Christmas, our penultimate day of the work week, unfortunately we’re on a late, late bus, because I had to go out the street and run some errands, and you know, despite how carefully you budget your time, those things always take longer than expected. But we’ll try to keep it short and sweet… and some of you are laughing, as though I can ever write anything short. 

Well, be careful, I might just surprise you today, (smile) as we continue looking at the birth of John the Baptist and what can happen, even to those with little or no faith, when the Holy Ghost fills you. The Bible tells us that after John was born: ‘And his Father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel: for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation (A Mighty Deliverer) for us in the house of his servant David; 

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began (down through the ages): That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us: To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.’ (Luke 1:67-75) 

Wow! What a way Zacharias suddenly loses his fear, develops faith and begins to prophesy…all under the aegis or divine protection and guidance of the Holy Ghost! That ought to remind and encourage us of the words that the Angel Gabriel said to Mary, when he told her about Elisabeth’s barren state being changed: ‘For with God nothing shall be impossible.’ (Luke 1:37) And thus Zacharias was able to prophesy his head off. Or as the scholars say: ‘His divinely empowered praise compensates for the months of being mute.’  

Thus he continues, now turning his prophecy to his son John. ‘And thou child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest (Most High): for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission (forgiveness) of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring (dawn, Messiah) from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ (Luke 1:76-79) 

Ah mih people, who would have ever thought it possible for Zacharias to offer up such profound prophesy after his reaction of fear to the angel Gabriel’s unexpected announcement that he was about to have a son…and a famous one at that? Not many of us. But that’s how our great and wonderful God works, especially in the lives of those who seem weak. It’s as Bruh Paul says in his first missive to the church at Corinth: ‘For ye see (consider) your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound (put to shame) the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound (put to shame) the things which are mighty. And base (insignificant) things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought (nothing) things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us (has become) wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.’ (1 Cor. 1:26-31) 

And that’s a most wonderful and informative scripture for us to end on my people! Now, let’s declare and thus activate our Thursday Blessings which the Lord hath so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work! As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration (yesss!!!) it now behooves us to go out and use those undeserved blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! And as you can see friends, with the Lord’s help, the Bit IS a tad shorter than normal! (smile) Much LOVE!

….fear steals our strength…but faith makes us even stronger than normal…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Importance of Knowing and Understanding Scriptures on Failure and Weakness!

2 Corinthians 12:9a.         My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness.

Oh my, my, it’s already Thursday, the week has quickly passed by. Only one more day to that time we all look forward to, the weekend, when we get to do our own thing. But in the meantime, let’s concentrate on doing an excellent job at our work places, spreading our salt and shining our bright lights so that Jesus can be proud of us and also be glorified. 

And that segues very nicely into what we are going to talk about today, a quote from my ‘P.S I LOVE YOU’ Poster my young daughter gave me several years ago. It says: ‘If you’re doing your best, you won’t have time to worry about failure.’ And that’s the gospel truth! For failure won’t even enter the situation when you’re concentrating on giving your all. However, failures do happen, and we must be aware of them, not just put on blinders and behave as though we won’t be affected by them. 

And there are a number of scriptures that advise us on dealing with failures. This commentary gives us an interesting insight into them. ‘Scriptures on failure emphasize that setbacks are a part of life, but God offers strength, guidance, and the promise of new beginnings. Other verses focus on God’s presence during hardship, the idea of perseverance, and the promise of God’s plan for a hopeful future.’ Now there’s more truth that we need to see us through this crazy and mixed up life. 

So let’s check out some of those verses that help us handle failure. And we’ll begin with some that tell us about God’s guidance and hope. Up first are these ones that we all know from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.’ (Prov. 3:5-6) And there’s no better place to begin than right there my people. If we want to refute as much failure as possible, we must place our total confidence and trust in the Lord God Jehovah and follow His leading. 

Meanwhile Isaiah gives us another big scripture on depending on God’s providence. ‘But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.’ (Is. 40:31) And if those two scriptures don’t get you going, then listen to this one from Jeremiah, where the Lord Himself assures us: ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11)  

Oh friends, if the Lord God Himself assures us of that future and a hope, why won’t we believe, expect and work towards it eh? Only if we don’t truly believe in Him and His promises. Now, let’s turn to some scriptures that guide us on perseverance and resilience. And there’s none as big as this one from the wisdom of Cousin Sol. ‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (stumble into calamity). (Prov. 24:16) And that’s something we Christians ought to have very deeply engraved in our hearts, souls, bodies and minds. There is no failing or giving up in Christ! We ought always to get up and keep on keeping on. 

As they say, you’ve not failed until you stop trying, for the darkest hour is just before the dawn and who knows what will happen on our next attempt. And then we have these beautiful and most reassuring words from Bruh Paul in his second missive to the Corinthians, where he boldly proclaims: ‘We are troubled (hard-pressed) on every side, yet not distressed (crushed); we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast (struck) down, but not destroyed.’ (2 Cor. 4:8-9) 

Wow! What towers of power are we believers in Christ Jesus! They can bend us as much as they want, but we won’t ever break, because we’re supported by Jesus Christ, the name that’s above every other name; the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords! Now here’s another gem of perseverance and resilience from Bruh Paul to the Philippians. ‘Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (laid hold of the fulness of Christ): but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth (forward) unto those things which are before (ahead), I press toward the mark (goal) of the high (upward) calling of God in Christ Jesus.’  (Phil. 3:13-14) 

Yes my fellow believers, that’s how we ought to be, forgetting what’s behind us and ever pressing forward to meet the goal of spiritual maturity in Christ! And finally we come to some scriptures that reassure us by telling us about God’s strength in weakness. Hear this most famous one from Bruh Paul to the Corinthians. After asking the Lord three times to remove an annoying thorn in his flesh, the Lord said unto him, ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (weaknesses), that the power of Christ may rest on me.’ (2 Cor. 12:9) 

What an awesome promise from our great God! His power increases and strengthens us when we are weak. How much better can it be eh? Well just listen to this other promise from Bruh Paul to the Philippians: ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.’ (Phil. 4:13) What a marvellous Saviour we have! We can do anything that He desires us to do through His awesome strength! And we’ll close with this tidbit form the psalmist Asaph from Psalm 73: ‘My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength (rock) of my heart, and my portion for ever.’ (Ps. 73:26) 

Oh my brethren, how much more reassurance can we ask from our God eh? He is with us every which way we turn. The problem though is if we are with Him? And our God is so wonderful, that on top of all we’ve said above, He’s also  generously granted us what we call our Thursday Blessings, undeserved blessings to help us do His earthly work. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh. 

As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having said that, it now behooves us to go out and use those blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…failure in Christ’s kingdom… is not an option…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Importance of Christians Knowing Their Earthly Role!

Psalm 51:13.        ‘Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’

So we come to Thursday, the second to last day of our work week, and we’re all anxious to see Friday and the beginning of the weekend, but unfortunately we have to make it through Thursday first. (smile) But that should be a problem we can easily overcome with the help of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit that dwells within us for the very purpose of leading and guiding us in the way we should go as faithful believers in Christ. So let’s hunker down with Him and do our Christ-like duties nuh. (smile) 

And today we’ll continue looking at Psalm 51, where David pleads for forgiveness, then for cleansing from the Lord for his adulterous sin with Bathsheba, the wife of his solider Uriah. And it’s interesting that after Bruh David pleads for forgiveness and cleansing, he then offers Praise for Forgiveness with these words of ministry. ‘Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ (ps. 51:13) Now, that’s also our God-given purpose. But are we doing it to the best of our ability? Absolutely not! Otherwise our world would not be in such a terrible state of sinfulness, hate, greed, strife, envy and deceit; all the trademarks of our avowed enemy, Satan. 

And Bruh David continues with his promise of ministry: ‘Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.’ (Ps. 51:14-15) There again my fellow believers, those are things we should also be doing, but unfortunately are not doing them very well either. How many of us are truly singing aloud the righteousness of God eh? Or how many mouths are proclaiming His praise? Certainly not enough! In other words we are not being good ambassadors and disciples of Jesus Christ, as He desires and expects of us. 

That’s why so many are turning away from the faith and not enough others are taking their place. We seem to be too afraid of what mankind will say or do to us if we confess Jesus in all sincerity and truth. In church we carry on everlasting, but out in the world where it really matters we are quiet as lambs. It’s easy to talk up Jesus amongst a group of believers, however that’s not we’ve signed up for. We signed up to bring light to a dark and evil world by unabashedly spreading the good news of Christ. That means doing it without embarrassment or shame, being a strong and steadfast soldier in Christ’s army. 

Now, no army would be victorious if many of it’s soldiers are afraid of fighting, like so many of us supposed Christians are. And if by chance we’re not afraid, then we’ve become too comfortable in the ways and pleasures of the world, and don’t want to make the effort it takes to glorify Christ to the world. But please note what Bruh David then says in the psalm. ‘For thou desirest not sacrifice; else I would give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.’ (Ps. 51:16-17) 

Yes friends, that’s what the Lord desires when we sin against Him; a humble spirit and heart; our inner being saddened by our disobedience. As Peter tells us: ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.’ (1 Pet. 5:6) Humility is the number one attitude of the true believer. We cannot seriously engage with the Lord if pride is uppermost in our souls, for it’s one of the things He most dislikes. That’s why our first move in pleading for forgiveness is to become humble in God’s sight. For remember, we don’t deserve clemency, but it’s the awesome gift of God’s compassionate nature. 

And I like what the scholars say about verses 13-17 in the psalm. ‘This passage clearly teaches that those who have failed God may be restored to the service of God.’ And isn’t that the most wonderful truth! Yes my people, our God is the God of many chances! Once you come to him with a sincere and humble heart seeking forgiveness, He will indeed offer you another chance. But please note that does not give us the leeway to live in known continual sin and then continually plead for forgiveness. 

And Bruh David concludes the palm with a Plea for Blessings on Zion. ‘Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering, and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.’ (Ps. 51:18-19) Ah mih people, back then the Israelites paid obeisance to God, through blood and burnt offerings, but those are no longer necessary, for what the Lord requires of today is the sincerity of our hearts. 

And it all falls into line with the prophecy of Ezekiel. ‘A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony (hardened, unresponsive to God) heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh (tender, responsive to God). And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgements, and do them.’ (Ezek. 36:26-27) Yes mih brethren all of that came through when Christ returned to heaven and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us. Therefore, it’s no longer about physical offerings, but the offerings of our hearts. 

Now, let’s go home declaring (steups!!!) our undeserved Thursday Blessings, which the Lord has so generously bestowed on us to do His earthly work. As one strong and sincere voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! 

I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having made that declaration (awright!!!) it now behooves us to go out and use those undeserved blessings to help others, just as generously as the Lord bestowed them on us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him as we do! Much LOVE!

…sharing the knowledge of Christ…while living a Christ-like example…is the believer’s earthly role……

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

The Overwhelming Importance of Christians not making the Attainment of Earthly Wealth Their Life’s Goal!

Hebrews 13:5a.        Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:

Ah friends, I can’t believe it’s already Thursday, the penultimate day of our workweek! The week has certainly passed quickly, and October seems to be giving us some nice sunshiny weather, though a tad on the cooler side. And we won’t complain, although complaining seems to be our lot these days. (smile) Now, as I was leafing through the Good Library, seeking something to write on, I came across this rather interesting and most appropriate lesson for these particular times. 

It’s a verse from the author of Hebrews, which very conveniently, we only remember the last half, while seldom paying any attention to the first half. Why? Because the scripture admonishes and wisely advises us thus: ‘Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he (the Lord) hath said , I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ (Heb. 13:5) 

Yes my people, we tell ourselves that the last half of the verse is the gospel truth, but we completely ignore the first half, because that’s the way of the world in these greedy and covetous times, and too many of us supposed believers are living like the world, not like Christians. Remember what Jesus said when He prayed for the disciples, and consequently us? ‘They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart) through thy truth: thy word is truth.’ (John 17:16-17) 

Yes friends, we’re supposed to be in the world, but set aside from the world, and knowing God’s Word, which is the infallible truth, we’re not supposed to be behaving like the world. But unfortunately, too many of us are doing just that, engaging in the greed, envy and licentiousness that we’re supposed to resist and instead make public, so that the evil doers can see the light of Christ. And the sad part is that the admonishment against covetousness is not a new one, for it was framed from time immemorial in the Ten Commandments which the Lord gave to the Israelites and subsequently to those who professed belief in him and His Son Jesus Christ. 

So, let’s cast our minds back to that august document, set out in Exodus 20. The last commandment of those ten, most explicitly warns: ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.’ (Ex. 20:17) Now, what about that don’t we understand eh? 

And some of you trying to be smart might say, it only talks about our neighbour’s stuff. Well for your information, everybody around you, whether you live close to them or not, is your neighbour. Remember when the foolish lawyer who wanted to be seen, asked Jesus the same question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ And Jesus then told him the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing his neighbour was anyone whom he came into contact with. (Luke 10: 28-37) So, don’t covet, means just that: don’t covet anything at all from anybody. Covetousness ought not to be an attribute of a believer in Christ Jesus. 

And Jesus Himself warned us about covetousness, when someone asked him to talk to his brother about sharing their inheritance, ‘And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge, or a divider (an arbitrator) over you? And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.’ (Luke 12:13-15) Then, as was His wont, to back up His statement, Jesus told them the parable of the rich fool. Where this man had so much stuff, he had nowhere to store them. So in his foolish, worldly wisdom decided to tear down all his storehouses and build bigger and better ones, so he could store all his goods. 

‘And I will say to my soul,  Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat drink and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.’ (Luke 12:19-21) 

And we see that happening every day, where some person who has spent their entire lives building great material wealth, suddenly dies. And what becomes of their fortune eh? They surely cannot take it with them. No, it’s left behind for a lot of greedy, covetous vultures in human form to fight over it. And in the end, the people who benefit most are the high-priced lawyers they hire to fight for it! What godly justice for greed and covetousness. 

And we can’t have a scriptural conversation on covetousness without these remarkable words of Bruh Paul to Timothy on the subject. He writes: ‘But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing) let us be therewith content. But they that will be (desire to be) rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful (harmful) lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition (ruin and destruction). 

For the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from their faith (for which, some in their greediness have strayed from the faith), and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, LOVE, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed (confessed) a good profession (confession) before many witnesses.’ (1 Tim. 6:6-12) 

Ah mih bredrin, Bruh Paul says it all right there! It’s high time we believers stop making the attainment of material wealth our life’s goal. There’s nothing wrong with having wealth, but living to create it is unwise. Especially since the Lord has blessed us with what we call our Thursday Blessings; so many undeserved blessings, to do our earthly work. So let’s declare and thus activate them right now nuh! 

As one strong and sincere voice. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! 

I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’ 

And having activated those blessings, it now behooves us to go out and use them on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!

…godliness with contentment…is what Christians should be seeking…not maximization of earthly wealth…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

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